Hearts on Parade
by IsisIzabel
Summary: When Caroline realizes she can never be with Matt, she starts to spiral out of control. But maybe there's one person who understands what she's going through. Rated 'M' for later chapters; spoilers through 2.16; eventual Caroline/Tyler, some Caroline/Matt
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: **Picks up right after the end of 2.16 (The House Guest), so spoilers through that episode. I'm rating this 'M' for later chapters. As always, no explicit content will be posted on per their guidelines. All NC-17 material can be found at my personal writing site, _Evening on the Ground_. See my profile for the link and instructions on how to join (it's 100% free)._

**

* * *

****Chapter 1**

Caroline could feel her control bleeding away. She scrabbled for the fraying ends, but they slipped through her hands. It was a twisted, awful dance now that made her chest ache. She stepped forward, he staggered back. He lunged forward and she skittered away. Neither gained or gave an inch.

"Matt, _please_," her voice cracked on the last word, pleading. She held her hands up, surrendering and blocking. Defense and offense.

"What the … what the _hell_, Car," he hissed, his blue eyes wide and wild as they looked for an exit. He looked like a trapped animal. The fear and hatred twisted his face so it was unrecognizable.

This wasn't the boy she fell in love with. Not the boy she humiliated herself for hours earlier by singing in public. The boy she risked her life for by compelling the lead singer of the band in public. If Damon found out about her little stunt it would be all the ammunition he needed to kill her once and for all.

"It's OK," she assured him, wincing at the hollow ring of the words. "I'm not going to hurt you."

He shook his head, chest heaving. The blood was roiling through his veins, pumping hard and fast with desperation and adrenaline. The effect was intoxicating and she ground her teeth together when she felt her canines sharpen. She willed her eyes not to darken, for the veins to claw to the surface of her pale cheeks, but she knew it was pointless. His eyes bulged even wider and she shifted back on her heels.

"This isn't happening," he whispered, horrified. He started to edge towards the back door. "This is a dream, right?"

Her heart wrenched and she choked down a sob. Her vision was blurring with tears. "Matt—"

"Who _are_ you?" he asked, finally looking her in the eye. His mouth twisted. "_What_ are you?"

She clapped a hand to her chest. "I'm still _me_," she pressed, taking a step forward. She stopped when he moved closer to the door, his fingers already extended blindly behind him, feeling for the knob.

"Caroline … I don't understand."

"Then let me explain," she begged. "I promise, I can explain."

"Are you … you're a vampire?" The words came out strangled and strange, his voice wooden and flat. His fingers flexed and then balled into fists.

Her eyes slid shut. "Yes."

"You kill … _people_?" Matt's hand closed around the doorknob.

She blinked her eyes open. "No," she swore vehemently. "_No_."

"You've never killed anyone?" he challenged, the dark fire in his blue eyes foreign to her.

The question went right to her heart, as sharp and deadly as a stake. He knew her too well. Knew how she would hedge around the truth when she wanted to protect herself or someone she loved. Like she wanted so desperately to protect him.

She tried to form words, but in the end she couldn't find them. Caroline Forbes was at a loss for words. Her arms hung limply by her sides and she bowed her head.

"Have you ever killed anyone, Caroline?" he demanded, anger pulsing off of him. "Like Vicky?"

"I never killed Vicky!" Her head shot up, eyes wide. "I wasn't even like this then."

"When? _When_ did this happen?"

"After the accident," she replied, clinging to any chance she was given to explain herself. If she could just make him see that she was still the same. That _they_ could still be the same. "I woke up in the hospital and I was like … _this_. I didn't have a choice, Matt!"

His brows knit together in concentration. A muscle fluttered in his jaw. "So you didn't kill Vicky."

"Of course not!"

"But you killed other people? Other _humans_?" Matt snapped, his words cold and hard.

Guilt flooded her, sweeping her away in a wave of regret and shame and humiliation. She couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. She stared at a spot over his shoulder. "I didn't mean to."

"But you did?" he pressed, relentless.

"Yes," she whispered, broken and defeated.

"And this is what you've been keeping from me? The real reason you broke up with me?"

She nodded, barely able to make out his form through her tears. She blinked and they fell free, shattering against her pale cheeks. "I wanted to protect you."

Realization dawned on his face. "Tyler. Tyler knows?"

Caroline clenched her teeth and nodded slowly, already resolving not to tell Matt the truth about Tyler. It wasn't her secret to tell. Besides, if this was how he handled finding out his girlfriend was a vampire she didn't want to see what happened when he discovered his best friend was a werewolf.

Matt stared at her for several heartbeats and then he held his hands up. "I can't do this, Caroline. I just … I can't."

Panic clawed at her throat, choking her. "You can't—"

He started to open the door, but she beat him there in a flash. With a flick of her wrist she slammed the door shut, making herself a barrier between him and the door. She flinched when he jumped away with a cry of surprise. He moved too fast, tripping over his own feet and landing in a heap. His head smacked against the wall with a hollow thwack.

"I can't let you leave," she whispered. Determination glinted like steel in her eyes as she resolved herself for what was coming next. What had to happen next.

"_Let me leave_?" he hissed, scrambling to his feet. Terror made his pace quicken even more. "What do you mean you can't _let_—"

"I'm sorry, Matt." Caroline was in front of him before he could react, grabbing him by the shoulders with her small hands. She caught his gaze and forced him to submit to her. She felt the tension drain out of his muscles as he let her inside his mind.

Her eyes widened as she began to compel him. "This never happened." The words came out mangled and thick through crying.

"This never happened," he repeated in a blank monotone. His jaw went slack.

Caroline blinked back tears but forged on. "You were never stabbed in the Grille. I never saved you. You fell and hit your head, and I brought you back here."

"I fell."

"Right," she murmured, moving her hands up his broad shoulders and cradling his face in her hands. "You memory got a little fuzzy and you have a headache, but you're fine. We're going to be _fine_." She let him go and stepped back with a hard blink, breaking the connection of the compulsion. She leaned back against the wall and let her eyes slide shut.

A warm hand closed over her shoulder. "You OK, Car?"

She looked up to see Matt hovering over her, his face screwed up with concern and worry for her.

"I … I'm fine," she stammered, straightening. Her eyes narrowed. "How are you?"

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Got a headache. I hit my head pretty hard back there, didn't I?"

She nodded slowly, swallowing back another sob. She could still feel the horror rolling off him in waves as he recoiled from her only moments earlier. She could feel his hatred lingering, mingling with the sweetness of the way he was touching her now. It was her undoing.

His blue eyes softened. "Hey. What's wrong?"

Caroline bit her lower lip and threw her arms around his neck suddenly, making sure she kept her strength in check. Even still, she felt his startled gasp as she squeezed a little harder, but his arms circled around her nonetheless.

"I thought I lost you," she finally whispered, her words muffled against his shoulder.

A chuckled rumbled through his chest and he tangled his hands in her hair, angling her head back. His eyes were warm and loving. He swept a thumb across her cheek. "I'm right here."

She nodded, swallowing hard. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she shuddered when he caught them with his fingertips and brushed them away.

"Besides," he went on, his tone shifting to something more playful. He bent his knees to meet her eye level. "I just got you back. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

A strangled laugh caught in her throat. "Promise?"

Matt pressed his lips to hers, hot and gentle. He pulled away and glanced at her, adoration shining in his eyes. "Caroline, I _love_ you. Nothing's ever going to change that."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Her hands felt impossibly hot against the already feverish skin of his bare shoulder. He shifted to move away, doubled over by the pain, but she shifted with him on the slatted wooden floor of the storage shed. Silver moonlight spilled through the cracks in the walls casting long shadows across the room.

"You need to relax, Tyler." Jules ordered, her tone sharp with impatience. She was fighting off her own urge to change, tremors rippling through her body and making her hands shake. She shook her ponytail over her shoulder, gripping Tyler tighter.

Tyler's dark eyes flashed and he wanted to yell at her to back off, but he knew if he opened his mouth even once he wouldn't stop screaming. The pain was going to rip him in half. He whimpered as he felt another rib break and reform.

Jules had brought him to the storage shed in the middle of Tate's Hell State Forest hours earlier so they could both shift into their werewolf form. She and Mason had erected the small structure for them to change every full moon out of the watching eyes of neighbors. It was crude and in desperate need of repairs. Jules joked about how many times they had replaced the door because they couldn't seem to stop from smashing through it wolf form. Tyler didn't know why they didn't just leave the damn door open if it was such an issue. They were the only people around for miles so it wasn't like people would come running to investigate the sounds.

Tyler had been surprised by the forest that, if not for the wetlands, was eerily like the woods back home. He had always assumed Florida meant sun, sand, and bikinis. He hadn't considered the fact that Mason lived in Northern Florida. Even though it was near the coast, it wasn't anything like the tawdry Spring Break images that flashed across mind when Jules offered him a way out of Mystic Falls.

"Shit," Jules hissed, her own back arching as her muscles contracted. She forced her back straight again with a series of pops and cracks. She was breathing hard through her mouth now, sweat beading on her forehead. "It's going to be OK."

He nodded numbly, barely understanding her through the haze of his own agony. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself somewhere—_anywhere_—else. He tried to think of something good, but that failed miserably. The only thing that would make him happy brought on more pain than his transition.

Tyler Lockwood was a boy who was known in Mystic Falls for his screw-ups. Usually a charming smile and the Southern philosophy of 'boys-will-be-boys' saved his ass. If that didn't cover it, the Lockwood checkbook took care of the rest. He threw his looks and money around with reckless abandon for years, and he couldn't help but think this was karma finally catching up with him. He had finally stumbled into a situation he couldn't talk or grin his way out of.

_Caroline._

Her name echoed in his head to the point of madness. The look of complete betrayal in her eyes before he left was worse than any pain he had ever felt—his current predicament included. He hadn't realized how completely the insanely bubbly blonde had wormed her way into his life. When she left, she ripped a Caroline-sized hole through his chest that still felt raw and exposed.

A sharp pain ripped through his shoulder and his arm shot out, trying to straighten and relieve the pressure. His hand caught Jules in the center of her chest, knocking her across the room. She slammed into the opposite wall, crouching down on her hands as she got back up. His breath caught when he took in the feral glint in her eyes as she bared her teeth at him. Something in him tugged, begging to respond. The growl ripped its way through his throat before he could stop it. The sound twisted, the low rumbled becoming a roar of pain. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself as his body started the final process of changing. Bones snapped, tendons popped and muscles strained as the wolf took shape.

He never stopped screaming.

* * *

"Someone needs to say something to her," Bonnie murmured, her green eyes sad and worried as she looked at Caroline on the other side of the Grille. She picked up her Sprite, taking a sip while tracing the ring of condensation if left behind. She set the glass down harder than necessary, sloshing some of the sticky clear liquid over the edge. She blinked, surprised, when a hand closed over hers.

Jeremy smiled at her, squeezing her fingers for emphasis. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She's _Caroline_."

Across the table Elena didn't look so convinced. She dared another look at their friend. Caroline had gone across the room to pick another song from the Jukebox. That was five minutes ago. The blonde was currently staring blankly at the glassy display case, not even pretending to look at the songs anymore.

Caroline had been off for the last week, but whenever Elena asked what was wrong, she forced a happy smile and assured her everything was fine. Elena and Bonnie had invited her out on what they hoped would be a triple date, but they found out when they arrived that Caroline hadn't even mentioned the outing to Matt. She had been distant and moody since then.

Elena glanced at Stefan who sat to her left. "Maybe I should talk to her." She ran a hand through her long hair.

Stefan pressed his lips together briefly and then got to his feet. "I will."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? This might not be a vampire thing," she said, lowering her voice. "It might be a girl thing."

"I thought things were good with her and Matt," Jeremy said softly, wrapping an arm casually around the back of Bonnie's chair. He glanced over at the girl in question and frowned. "Where'd she go?"

They all turned to see that Caroline was indeed gone. The only evidence that she had been there was the emergency exit door off the side swinging shut.

"Stefan—" Elena started, but he was already across the room and pushing the door open. By the time Elena, Jeremy, and Bonnie got to their feet and made it to the door, both vampires were gone.

* * *

Caroline felt her irritation level rising with every step through the woods. Another twig snapped behind her and she finally whirled around. "Enough, OK? You can stop following me."

Stefan shoved his hands deep into his pockets and shrugged, his brow furrowed with worry. "Then tell me what's going on."

"I'm hungry," she snapped impatiently. "Can you just leave me the hell alone?"

Stefan didn't move. He was used to Caroline's mood swings by now. He also knew that this was no typical teenage girl having a tantrum—vampire or not. In the last few months he had gotten a good sense of who Caroline Forbes was and what made her tick. Something was definitely wrong.

"Why don't you just tell me what's wrong," he suggested as gently as possible.

Her jaw clenched and she looked away, working to get her anger under control was harder now that she was a vampire. All her emotions were more extreme, but she found anger to be one of the hardest to control. Something in her craved the powerful feelings of rage and hate burning through her veins.

"I just need some space, OK?" she finally said, her voice flat.

"We're friends, right?" Stefan pressed. He came a few steps closer, stopping when he was about five feet away. "You can tell me if something—"

"He didn't want me, OK?" Caroline exploded, looking back at him. Her eyes were bright, glassy with unshed tears. She choked back a sob, bowing her head. Two tears fell down and smashed into the dead leaves under their feet.

He froze, unsure of what that meant. Maybe he should have brought Elena after all. "Caroline—"

"Matt," she whispered, looking up at him. Her blue eyes were dark and pleading. Her chin trembled. "He knows."

His eyes rounded and panic set in. "He _knows_?"

"The night Dr. Martin came after Elena? He stabbed Matt. I gave him my blood to save him and took him to my house. When he woke up…" She squeezed her eyes shut, but the memory was burned into her mind. "He hated me. Hated what I am."

Stefan was torn between shaking her and hugging her. She looked so lost and broken standing there in the woods in the dark, but at the same time she had been keeping this secret for over a week. If Matt knew about them and _hated_ them, that was certainly something she needed to tell.

Damon was going to kill Caroline, and probably Matt, too.

"OK, where's Matt?" Stefan asked softly, raking a hand through his hair. He needed to do damage control. Maybe he could keep this from spiraling out of control.

Caroline blinked and then a horrified expression twisted her delicate features. "No! I … I did the compulsion thing. He doesn't remember anything."

He exhaled hard as relief made his shoulder sag. "That's … good."

"But I remember," she went on quietly. "I remember the way he looked at me. The way he ran … He's never going to accept what I am, and I'm never going to be able to change who I am! And it's not like I can break up with him because he doesn't understand why two weeks ago I was singing him a love song and this week I can't be within ten feet of him. God, it's not _fair_!" A sob escaped and she buried her face in her hands.

Sighing quietly, Stefan went to her and put his arms around her. He let her cry it out and didn't flinch when she sniffled against his shirt.

"Sorry," she muttered, stepping out of the circle of his arms. She wiped her eyes furiously.

"It's OK," he assured her with a small smile.

"I don't know what to do, Stefan," she said after a long pause. "I can't be with him, can I?"

"I wish there was an easy yes or no answer here, but there isn't," he finally replied. "Is it a risk to be with him? Definitely. Especially now that you know how he's going to react if he figures it out again. But I can't tell you who you can and can't love."

Caroline tilted her head and shrugged helplessly. "Can it ever really be love if the person you're with won't accept you for who you are?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_**Three Months Later…**_

Tyler could feel the tension rolling off Jules in waves. He didn't need to glance at her to know her hands were clenched into fists. He could practically hear her teeth grinding from across the cab of the Jeep. He tried not to smirk, but it was damn hard.

"You know you didn't have to come with me," he murmured after a beat. He turned the steering wheel with one hand and slowed for a stop sign. Now he looked at her. She looked like a statue, frozen and stiff in the seat beside him. A slight breeze from her cracked window moved her hair, but nothing else about her so much as twitched.

Jules sighed softly. "I just don't see why you felt the need to come back." She looked petulantly at him, her lips pressed in a thin line.

He let himself feel a momentary pang of sympathy for her. In the months they had spent together he had learned a lot about Jules, which was why he knew she wouldn't understand his need to come home to Mystic Falls for the weekend.

Jules had been bounced from one foster home to the next since she was six. The state of Florida had graciously dumped her on her ass at the age of eighteen without so much as a "good luck" and washed their hands of her. It wasn't until she accidently killed a man in self defense in an alley outside a strip club she found part-time work in that she found out what she was. Luckily a pair of wolves had found her and explained things, essentially adopting her into their pack where she met Mason.

Jules didn't get the importance of Tyler being home for his mother's birthday. She didn't see why he couldn't leave his old life behind the way she had. That being said, she also wasn't willing to let him go by himself.

"I told you," he explained again, hitting the gas a bit harder than necessary. The old gear of the Jeep whined in protest and he let off. "It's my mom's birthday. With my dad gone, she has no one. It's bad enough I've only called her four times."

"It's not like you haven't been dealing with your own stuff," Jules protested defensively.

This time he didn't bother to hide a smile. Jules had quickly taken on the role of his guardian in the short time they had been together which amused him to no end. She had introduced him to other wolves in the area, worked through his transformations with him, and even tried to get him enrolled in a school near her apartment. That had been a dismal failure which resulted in both of them shouting and several cabinet doors being ripped off their hinges in the kitchen.

He reached over and tugged on a stray lock of her hair. She gave him an indulgent smile and briefly covered his hand with her own.

Tyler turned up the street he had grown up on, barely noticing how the single family homes had slowly melding into sprawling estates with columns and perfectly manicured lawns. Spring was in full bloom here. The grass was thick and lush and the trees were no longer winter skeletons. Some flowers had even begun to blossom.

He turned up his driveway and paused at the bottom. "You sure about this? I mean, I'm fine going up by myself."

Jules frowned. "Of course I'm sure. Last I checked, Mystic Falls was still crawling with vampires. I'm not leaving you on your own."

Tyler didn't bother to tell her—_again_—that these particular vampires wouldn't hurt him. At least, he didn't think they would. He could still picture the fury in Caroline's eyes that masked the deep hurt she felt at his betrayal right before he left town. Instead he turned the car up the long drive through the woods.

He chuckled out loud when he saw the six different catering and decorating vans parked haphazardly in the driveway and lawn. His mother had yet to have a birthday celebration that included less than half the population of Mystic Falls. He didn't know why he assumed this year would be different.

Jules peered out through the windshield. "Looks like a party." Her gaze slanted over him critically. "Guess she didn't miss you as much as you thought."

He let the barb go, knowing it wasn't aimed directly at him, but was more a passive-aggressive way for her to imply they should go back to Florida. He put the car in park and got out, arching his back to loosen his cramped muscles. It had been hours since their last pit stop. He took a few tentative steps, stretching out his legs and walked around the car as Jules got out.

A shadow of doubt flickered over her face. "I forgot how big this place was."

His eyes moved over the three story brick mansion, realizing he felt almost as awed by it as Jules. Somewhere in the midst of things, their cramped one-bedroom apartment had become more home than the house he grew up in. Although, he had always joked this house was more of a museum and less of a home.

"Guess I should find my mom," he muttered as he started to cross the grass with Jules following reluctantly behind him.

He turned around the back of a truck and nearly collided with the table that was being lowered out of the back.

"Watch out!" a voice yelled.

Tyler instinctively moved forward, catching the table as it fell out of the truck with his hands and easing it to the ground as if it weighed no more than a paperweight.

"Thanks so much," the muffled voice inside the truck said. "That thing weighed a freaking _ton_. Thought I lost it."

A body launched itself off the back of the truck and turned.

Tyler couldn't hide his surprise, but a slow smile stretched across his lips. "Matt."

Matt grinned and reached for Tyler, pulling him into a rough hug for a quick second before releasing him. "When did you get back?"

"Just now," Tyler said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He glanced behind him. "You remember Jules, right?"

"Of course," Matt answered with a charming smile. He extended a hand to Jules. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise," she said, shaking his hand quickly and then moving back behind Tyler.

"Does your mom know you're back? She's going to _flip_." Matt's eyes sparkled with happiness.

"No, I wanted it to be a surprise." Tyler looked up at the house, half expecting his mom to be peering out the window.

"It will be. I know everyone will be glad to see you're back." Matt punched him in the shoulder playfully. "How long are you back for?"

Tyler could feel Jules tense behind him and he gave his friend a noncommittal shrug. "Not sure yet."

Matt's smile dimmed somewhat. "So this is just a visit? I mean, I heard you were in Florida. Why did you—"

"You know," Tyler started, cutting Matt off smoothly, "I really need to see my mom. You know how pissed she'll be if I'm out here talking to you and not in there talking to _her_."

Matt nodded slowly, the sun highlighting the blonde in his hair. "Yeah, I need to finish setting up anyway. But I'll see you tonight, right?"

Tyler started to walk backwards to the house. "Of course."

"Cool. I need to go home and take a shower before I pick up Katie, anyway."

Tyler stopped short, his eyes narrowing. "Katie?"

Matt looked away for a second. "Yeah. Katie Lewis. We've been dating for a few weeks now."

"What about Caroline?" Tyler felt his blood run cold. Jules curled a hand around his bicep and he shrugged her off. He walked back to Matt, his eyes dark and intense.

"Caroline dumped me," Matt admitted quietly. "A few weeks after you left. It just … It didn't work out. I'm still not entirely sure what happened. I haven't seen her much since we split. She wouldn't return my calls."

Tyler frowned, confused. "So you just stopped trying? I thought you loved her."

Matt's shoulders stiffened and his jaw clenched. "Look, man, you weren't here, OK? You don't get it. Caroline's … different." He sighed and started to pick up the table. "I have to get these set up."

"Yeah, sure," Tyler murmured, watching as Matt carried the table towards the back of the house.

Jules came up behind him, settling her hands on his shoulder. "It's probably for the best," she said softly.

Tyler turned sharply, glaring at her. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means vampire and human relations usually never work out. It's probably safer for your friend that the bloodsucker ended things." Her voice took on a hard edge as she matched his glare.

A muscle jumped in his jaw as his teeth clamped together. "Don't call her that," he growled and then stalked across the yard to the front porch.

* * *

Liz Forbes was a woman who was used to the painful facets of life. She had married the boy she grew up next door to and found out he was secretly in love with her brother when she was seven months pregnant. She had clawed her way to the top of a male-dominated profession and made a career of being the town sheriff. She had stared down vampires and come out nearly unscathed.

But, God help her, she didn't have a clue about how to help her daughter. Ever since she had found Caroline crying hysterically in her room over two months ago, Liz had been at a loss. She had listened while Caroline tearfully announced she and Matt were over. Since then the bubbly, carefree girl that used to drive her crazy on a good day was gone. She was a quiet, withdrawn shell of the girl she had once been, and Liz didn't quite know what to make of it.

Liz opened the front door, a grateful but weary smile on her face. "Hi, girls."

Elena came in first, followed by Bonnie. Both girls hugged Liz, but they looked just as somber as she did.

Liz shut the door, tugging at the hem of her simple black dress. Her eyes darted a glance down the hallway. "She's in her room. I honestly thought she would be back to normal by now."

"It was a bad breakup," Bonnie said after exchanging looks with Elena. She reached out and touched the sheriff's shoulder sympathetically.

Liz couldn't hide her frustration. "If Caroline regrets breaking up with Matt so much, why didn't she just tell him? I saw Matt last month and he looked just as miserable as she is."

"I think it's more complicated than that," Elena hedged softly, her brown eyes sad and worried.

"At the very least I thought the party tonight would help her cheer up," Liz lamented with a frustrated sigh.

Bonnie smiled. "We'll help her get ready and meet you there, Sheriff."

Liz glanced at her watch, knowing it looked bulky and decidedly unfeminine with her dress, but it was all she had. "You know how Carol will be if I'm not on time."

"Go on," Elena encouraged, adding her own warm smile. "We've got this."

It wasn't until after Liz shut the door and was halfway down the walk that Bonnie glanced at Elena. "Do we really have this?"

Elena sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I have no idea. She's been so depressed lately."

"You both realize I can hear you, right?"

Bonnie and Elena turned to see Caroline in the doorway to her bedroom. The look in her eyes could have frozen water. She was anything but ready, her hair still pulled back in a messy ponytail and she was still wearing jeans and a tank top. With an annoyed huff, she spun on her heel and went back into her room, leaving the door open.

"Look, Caroline, we're sorry," Bonnie started once she crossed the threshold.

"We're just worried," Elena added as she came in. She walked to the window and opened the blinds to allow more light in.

Caroline went to her closet and jerked a short blue dress out, tossing it carelessly onto the bed. "I'm fine."

Bonnie went around and picked up the dress, hanging it on the back of the door and smoothing out any wrinkles. "Sure you are."

Caroline ripped out the elastic band holding her ponytail in place and started brushing out her hair. She hesitated a second and dared a glance at Elena. "He's going to be there, isn't he?"

Elena nodded and settled on the edge of the bed, careful to keep her back straight so she wouldn't wrinkle the bodice of her emerald colored dress. She brushed her over her shoulder. "Yeah. He's bringing Katie with him."

Caroline's jaw clamped and she set the brush down with more force than necessary on the dresser. It knocked over a bottle of perfume. "Good for him."

"Caroline—"

"I get it, OK?" Caroline interrupted. "I'm acting like a raging bitch, and I have no right because I'm the one who ended things."

"You're entitled to feel however you feel," Bonnie argued. "You're allowed to be pissed off. It sucks no matter how you look at it."

"I just wish there was something we could do to make this better," Elena said quietly.

Caroline looked in the mirror and picked up a jar of mineral powder foundation, unscrewing the lid. "It doesn't matter. We have bigger issues to worry about. Like Klaus and the giant axe hanging over all of our heads."

Elena got off the bed and came up behind Caroline, looking at the blonde's blue eyes in the mirror. "We have no idea when, or if, Klaus will come here. And we can't spend the rest of our lives waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Elena's right," Bonnie chimed in, standing on Caroline's other side. "We need to keep on living our lives like normal because this might be as normal as things will ever get."

"I can't be with Matt," Caroline whispered, her eyes filling with unshed tears. She turned and walked away from them. She sank onto the edge of her mattress. "I can't be with him knowing that everything between us would be a lie. He'll never accept me for what I am."

"_Who_ you are is an amazing person, Caroline," Elena corrected as she sat beside her.

Bonnie joined them, taking Caroline's hand in hers. "You'll find the right person."

Caroline choked out a laugh and wiped her eyes. "Who in their right mind would sign up to be part of this freak show?" She laughed bitterly.

Elena nudged her shoulder with a smile. "You might be surprised."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Tyler knew the moment she crossed the threshold. Jules had trained him for weeks on how to pick out a vampire's scent—_stench_, she called it—from the myriad of smells that assaulted him on an hourly basis. He knew the sickly sweet, cloying scent as soon as it touched his nostrils, but his nose didn't wrinkle the way Jules' did beside him.

It wasn't just the vampire smell that made him know she was here—it was the smell of lilacs and honey. Scents he could only attribute to Caroline. He had never been close enough to another vampire to get to know their scent the way he knew hers. His feet started to move almost of their own volition before he realized what he was doing.

Jules tightened a hand around his wrist, her eyes flashing something dark and feral. "Take it easy."

His dark eyes narrowed, his brows drawing low. "I'm going to go say hi to a friend."

"A vampire is no friend of a werewolf," she hissed, clicking her tongue against her teeth. She kept her voice low as so not to attract the attention of the people around them. She turned more fully towards him, her chest heaving as she breathed hard through her mouth.

His eyes barely flickered over her distress. "I noticed you didn't get this upset when Damon and Stefan Salvatore walked in."

The Salvatore brothers had arrived nearly fifteen minutes ago. Both had nodded at Tyler, but the cold glare Damon had fixed on Jules had them both almost growling with hate. His rational side knew that Damon was completely justified in his hatred of Jules. Maybe some could even argue that Damon had every reason to kill Jules.

But pack came first. Jules was part of his pack and that meant she came first. If Damon was threatening _her_, he was threatening _them_. Stefan had seen the situation for what it was and quickly guided his brother away. Tyler could tell he was still running interference since Damon had yet to make a reappearance on this side of the house.

"Just leave it alone, Tyler," Jules snapped, but there was a hint of desperation in her voice. She tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

He could read the wariness in her eyes and struggled to balance the need he felt to obey Jules with the desire he felt to see Caroline. He sighed softly and gently extracted his hand from her hold. "I'll be right back, OK?"

Rage glittered dark in her eyes and she clenched her teeth together so hard he heard them click. "Do whatever you want." Tossing her hair over one shoulder she headed for the bar. He noticed more than a few male stares shift her direction and he smothered a grin.

Jules knew how to work her body when she needed to, and right now he knew she was doing just that. The exaggerated sway of her hips as she stalked across the dance floor in those three inch heels made her already tight dress mold to her every curve. When irritated, Jules resorted to trying to make people jealous.

But Tyler wasn't in the mood for her usual games.

He set his own drink down on an empty tray as a waiter passed and he started to make his way to the front of the house. He smiled genuinely at a few people who stopped him along the way, commenting on how good it was to have him home. As he made his way into the main foyer, he saw his mother surrounded by a handful of council members. She caught his eye and smiled, only giving him a brief nod as she turned back to listen to Sheriff Forbes.

He found her at the back of the house near the patio surrounded by her friends. Elena was standing off to the side with Stefan, looking at a piece of artwork on the wall he had never bothered to learn the name of. Caroline had her back to him, staring out the window.

His breath caught for just a second. He could make out her reflection in the glass, her full lips were unsmiling. His heart clenched of its own accord when he noticed how withdrawn she seemed. Caroline was typically the life of the party, always flitting around with a flirtatious smile and a giggle. He didn't know what to make of this Caroline. She was still stunningly beautiful, but there was a heavy sadness that seemed to be weighing her down.

Jeremy was the first to noticed him. He was saying something to Bonnie, who was laughing at his comment.

Jeremy's mouth dropped open for a second before erupting into a full-out grin. "Tyler, hey!"

Tyler couldn't help but return the smile sheepishly. It still amused him to no end that the kid who used to be the bane of his existence was now a good friend. A twinge of guilt tugged at him when he remembered the two unanswered voicemails Jeremy had left him after he had lit out of town with Jules.

Jeremy stepped around Bonnie and extended a hand to him. "When the hell did you get back?"

Tyler let himself be pulled into a one-armed hug. "A few hours ago." His gaze darted quickly to Caroline, who had turned around now and was staring at him with astonishment.

"Glad you're home," Bonnie said, reaching up to hug him quickly. Elena followed suit, giving him a wide smile when she stepped back.

"Are you home for good?" Jeremy asked.

He opened his mouth to answer and the words stuck in his throat. His heart sank. Caroline was no longer standing by the window. A quick look around the room proved she was gone. She had moved so fast, he hadn't noticed. He couldn't help the blow that came to his pride at her rejection. Clearly she was still pissed about what had happened before he left.

Stefan caught his eye and shook his head slowly. "She's having a rough time."

Bonnie and Elena whirled around as one, sighing at the same time when they realized their friend had bolted.

"I'll take the upstairs. Maybe she's still here," Bonnie murmured, squeezing Jeremy's hand once as she started past them. She paused next to Tyler. "It's really great that you're home again."

Elena slipped around him and started for the dining room to sweep the downstairs.

Tyler looked from Stefan to Jeremy. "What the hell's going on?"

Jeremy traded long looks with Stefan and finally shrugged. "I think you have to talk to Caroline about that."

"She's still mad at me," Tyler said flatly, his jaw tight.

Stefan shook his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. "It's not you, Tyler. She's going through a lot right now, but it really isn't our place to tell you."

"She could really use a friend right now, though," Jeremy added with an encouraging smile.

Tyler tried not to smile at the not-so-subtle hint. He gave them both a courtesy nod and started off to find Caroline. He got as far as the parlor before he realized he was going about this all wrong. He was still relying on his human senses.

Letting his eyes drift shut, he inhaled deeply through his nose. He forced the noise of the party to the background and started picking out scents. It took a minute, but he finally found that mixture that was so perfectly Caroline. It was faded because she was no longer in the house. He let his instincts guide him outside, past the lights that had been strung up around a makeshift dance floor on the outside, and towards the garden.

This garden had been his grandmother's pride and joy, or so he had been told. He had never met his father's mother, but he had heard stories and saw the pictures of her working this garden with her own two hands. Roses had been her favorite and they were in full bloom now, their smell surprisingly pleasant to his enhanced senses. His mother kept the garden going now with a handful of underpaid staff, never lowering herself to work the dirt with her own hands. His father had joked that Carol Lockwood didn't know a bulb from blossom, which was made all the funnier by the fact that she was a charter member of the Mystic Falls Garden Society.

The grass and dirt was soft under his feet, muffling the sounds of his approach as he drew nearer to her. He stopped inhaling her scent as he rounded the corner and saw her sitting on the edge of a wrought iron bench, a statue of an angel shadowed behind her. There was only pale lighting from the moon this far out, but he knew neither of them needed the light to see.

"Hey," he greeted, going for nonchalance as he sank down beside her.

She gave him a half smile. "Welcome home."

He stared straight ahead at the far away lights of the party. "I wasn't sure … I mean, I guess I just want to say I'm sorry."

Her eyes slid shut. "Tyler—"

"Just … hear me out, OK?" he pleaded, turning to her.

Caroline's eyes searched his face and she nodded slowly, mutely.

"I know I messed up. I never should have chosen Jules and her pack over you. You were my friend when I didn't have anyone else. I could have _killed_ you, and you still stuck by me," he went on. "I screwed up, and I'm sorry, Caroline. OK? I'm _sorry_."

Her lips twisted sadly. "I should have told you about Mason. I thought I was protecting you."

"We both made mistakes," he allowed with a hesitant smile.

"Why did you leave? You didn't even say goodbye," she pointed out.

"I needed to clear my head," he answered honestly. "I went with Jules. She's been helping me."

Caroline stiffened at the mention of Jules. "You left with that bitch?"

Tyler forced himself not to react, the wolf in him demanding her make her pay for the lack of respect she was showing his packmate. "She understands what I'm going through."

"Is she here now?" She looked around warily.

"She came back with me," he admitted. "But she's inside. I promise she won't bother you. I won't let her."

She looked uneasy and toyed with the hem of her dress. "Are you and Jules…"

His eyes went wide and then he laughed. "Me and Jules? No. Nothing like that." He rubbed the back of his neck, somewhat embarrassed. "We're not _together_ in the traditional sense."

Her eyebrows arched to a new height. "The traditional sense?"

He winced, wishing he had kept his big mouth shut. "There was this … moment. Right after I changed back the second time. We almost … but we didn't. It's complicated. A wolf thing."

"Right," she said slowly. "A _wolf_ thing."

He nudged her should with his. "But I think I'm getting a better handle on this shifting thing. Last month only hurt half as much as the first time."

She sobered quickly, remembering the pain of his first transformation. "I'm glad Jules has been helping you, and that you're OK."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. How are _you_ doing?"

She nodded, sniffing. She blinked rapidly. "I missed you."

He covered her hands with one of his. "I missed you, too."

She choked out a laugh, half strangled by a sob. She jerked her hands away, covering her mouth, eyes wide. "I'm sorry. I should—"

"You should tell me what the hell's going on," he suggested quietly, his dark eyes never leaving her. His gaze flickered back to the party. "Does this have anything to do with why you took off earlier? Or maybe why Matt's in there dancing with Katie Lewis and not you?"

Her lower lip trembled and she looked down, unable to hold his gaze any longer.

"Caroline, _talk _to me," he said softly. "Let me be _your_ friend now."

She drew in a shaky breath. "Matt knows."

Tyler's brow furrowed in confusion. "Matt knows what?"

Her eyes rounded, pleading with him to understand. "He _knows_, Tyler."

"He knows about _us_?" Tyler's jaw dropped open, his heart hammering unevenly in his chest. "How—"

"There was an accident," Caroline said carefully, painfully. "He was dying … I saved him."

Fear made his blood run cold. "You _turned_ him?" Tyler choked out after a beat.

Caroline's expression was horrified when she looked at him. "No! Of course not! But I … healed him. And he saw what I was. I told him everything." She twisted her fingers together in her lap. She looked away again. "He hated me."

A muscle jumped in his jaw. "_Hated_ you? Caroline, Matt could never—"

"He started freaking out," she cut him off harshly. "He blamed me for Vicky. Pretty much told me I was a monster..." She swiped at her eyes. "I had to make him forget."

"You used that mind warp thing?" Tyler raked a hand through his hair, feeling like he had been punched in the gut. He couldn't picture Matt, the guy who was more loyal than a Saint Bernard, turning on Caroline so easily.

She blinked and two tears fell against her pale cheeks, shattering on impact. "I _had_ to. I didn't want to—"

"Hey, hey," he cut her off, cradling her face in his hands and making her look him in the eye. "I get it, OK? I get it, Caroline. You did what you had to. I'm just…"

She sniffed. "Just what?"

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," he said softly, his thumbs sweeping across the delicate bones in her cheeks. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

The last of her resolve crumbled and her eyes spilled over with tears, sobs racking her body as she gave into the pain and hurt. She wrapped her small hands around his wrists and bowed her head, leaning into his broad chest.

Tyler had dated Morgan Lutz nearly a year earlier for about four months. It was, by far, the longest monogamous relationship he had ever had. Funny thing about Morgan was that the girl was given to tears more times than not. If he didn't immediately tell her how stunning she looked, her eyes would swell with tears and she would ask if he hated what she had on. If they watched a movie where it was hinted an animal was hurt, she was bawling within minutes and inconsolable for the rest of the night. In the end, Morgan had ended the relationship because she felt Tyler wasn't _there for her_, and he couldn't deny that she was right.

Every single time her doe-like eyes swam with tears, he had a panic attack. Crying girls weren't something he knew what to do with. Emotions had been stamped out of him from an early age, his father dictating that crying was a sure sign of a weak man. Morgan cried and he shut down.

But Caroline wasn't Morgan, and her tears weren't the simpering whimpers of a weak girl who had seen _Lassie_ fall off a cliff for the fifteenth time. Caroline's tears didn't make him look for the nearest exit so he could bolt.

He pulled her against his chest more firmly until she was nearly on his lap, wrapping his arms around her tighter than any human would be comfortable with. With Caroline he didn't have to hide his strength, and right now he was more than willing to share it with her if it lessened her pain even a fraction of an inch.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Hope you had fun tonight."

Jules's voice floated eerily through the darkened downstairs as Tyler slipped inside. He shut the front door silently, a maneuver he had perfected years ago, and locked it. He turned to the sound of the voice and walked into the room to the left.

"Christ, Tyler, take a shower," Jules muttered as soon as he crossed the threshold. "I can smell her all over you." She rubbed her eyes wearily and then fixed him with a hard glare.

Tyler's dark eyes adjusted quickly to the unlit room and he saw Jules sitting in his grandfather's wingback chair tucked in the corner of the parlor. Her long legs were crossed and she had kicked off her shoes sometime earlier. The glass in her hand was half-full, and the bottle on the table beside her was empty.

"My mom asleep?" Tyler asked instead of answering her. He moved towards the wet bar, already knowing the answer. His mother never bothered to stay for the aftermath of a party. She always trusted the help would set the house to rights so that everything was perfect once she awoke and came downstairs.

"Went upstairs a few hours ago," Jules replied, cocking her head to one side. "It's nearly four in the goddamn morning. Where the hell were you?"

"With my friends," he answered, his tone just as hostile. Well, really with just one friend, but he doubted Jules wanted to hear how he and Caroline had spent an hour in the garden talking before deciding to go to the Grille and shoot pool for the last two hours.

He started to reach for the crystal decanter of scotch and then thought better of it. He dropped his hand to his side and cast Jules one last glance. "I'm going to bed," he told her and started for the stairs.

Jules was in front of him before he could blink, her eyes dark and dangerous as she glared at him, her lips curling back over her teeth. "We're leaving today. Grab a few hours of sleep and then we'll head back for Florida."

Tyler's jaw clenched and he resisted the urge to shove her out of his way. "I'm not leaving. Not yet." He forced himself to step around her.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me that you're actually staying here for that stupid vampire slu-"

Tyler whirled, catching Jules by surprise before she could finish the insult. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around so she slammed hard into the wall. A picture fell off and hit the wood floor, its frame splintering.

Jules gasped, but instead of pushing him off, she pressed herself boldly against him, her eyes daring him to stop her. Her fingers curled around his wrists while he kept her pinned.

"OK," she murmured, licking her lips, "we can do it this way."

Light flooded the downstairs foyer and Tyler pulled her deeper into the shadows of the parlor, clamping a hand over her mouth.

"Tyler?" Carol called out hesitantly. He could hear her shuffle to the top of the stairs.

Sparing a last glance at Jules, he moved away from her and into the light of the foyer. "Yeah, it's me, Mom."

Carol tried to look disapproving, but he could smell the fear rolling off her. "Are you going somewhere?"

"No," he replied with a quick smile. "I just got in, actually."

"Do you realize what time it is?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, I got caught up with my friends. I was trying to be quiet when I came in and I tripped and knocked the picture off the wall."

Carol's eyes swept over to the wall he mentioned and her lips pursed as she surveyed the damage. In times past she would have lit into him for being out so late and so careless, but they both knew she didn't want to give him another reason to bolt.

She plastered a thin smile on her face. "I always hated that one. I'll see you in the morning?"

He hated the way her simple statement turned into a question. Hated the insecurity in her normally flawless ice queen exterior. His mother was the strong one, more so than his father had ever been, and seeing her flinch every time he closed a door or pulled on his shoes.

"Yeah, I'll see you in the morning," he promised gently, offering her a small smile in return. He watched as she headed back down the hall to her own bedroom, the light turning off a second later.

He exhaled hard and started to relax until he felt a pair of arms wrap around his lower torso. His body stiffened immediately.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, pushing her hands away and stepping forward to get away.

Jules smirked, her hair falling in the glossy waves over her shoulder in the moonlight from the windows. "Finishing what you started."

He started shaking his head. "This isn't going to happen, Jules. We talked about this."

"We talked about you not being ready," she agreed, her voice deeper and throatier than he remembered. "Don't tell me you're still having the same … _issues_."

Tyler's eyes narrowed. Of course she would throw that back in his face. He remembered all too well the night he changed back into human form. The adrenaline from running through the woods as wolves had been high and the heightened senses that lingered in the last few minutes after the change had almost led to him and Jules sleeping together.

But he stopped it at the last second. She had been understanding at the time, agreeing the timing wasn't right. He couldn't help but notice the open, lingering looks she gave him now. One of the other pack members told him that Jules would be going into her fertility cycle soon—another wolf thing he really wanted to know _nothing_ about—and she was looking for a mate.

Apparently Tyler had won the lottery. Or drew the short straw, depending on how you looked at it.

"Fine," he said brusquely, not bothering with being polite anymore, "I'm not interested in _you_."

Jules froze, the only indication she heard him was her eyes widening and her nostrils flaring. After a pregnant pause she held up her hands and stepped back.

"That's fine, Tyler." Her voice was hard as steel and just as sharp. "Go screw your little vampire girlfriend all you want. But don't come crying to me when you end up with a pair of fangs in your neck."

"Jules—" He sighed. He hadn't wanted to hurt her. Jules had helped him a lot in the last few months, and he felt he did owe her _something_.

"We're done, Tyler. Finished. I'm going back home today, and you can stay here all you want," she hissed. She raked a hand through her hair and shook her head. "Mason would be so disappointed in you."

Her words landed just where she had intended—cutting into his heart. He sucked in a sharp breath. "Mason didn't understand."

"And you do?" she retorted. "You, who have been a werewolf for less than a year, understand? Mason was murdered by the very people you want to stay here with. Damon killed him, and that little blonde bitch you care so much about is practically his groupie."

"Caroline isn't like that. She's my friend, a concept that is apparently wasted on you," he snapped.

"No," Jules said slowly, "she's a _vampire_ and you're a _werewolf_. You can try and delude yourselves all you like that you can be friends, but one slip up and you'll kill her. She will die an agonizingly slow death, going insane from the pain … All because you couldn't keep it in your pants and stay away." Jules glanced over him with disgust. "You're one hell of a friend, Tyler."

"I won't hurt her," he swore vehemently, clenching his fists.

Jules walked to the stairs and paused. "Oh, you will. I give it a month before you kill her and come crawling back to me." She waved at him as she ascended the stairs. "Enjoy your night, Tyler."

Grinding his teeth, Tyler unclenched his hands and slowly felt the muscles relax. The wolf in him craved the pack life now, and he was already missing it. But something else was telling him he needed to stay here. At least for now.

He started to head up the stairs when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Frowning, he pulled it out and looked at the message on the display screen from Matt.

**meet me outside**

He snapped the flip phone shut and opened the front door, surprised when he saw Matt pacing at the bottom of the landing. He closed the door and jogged down the steps.

"What's up?" He watched as Matt stopped paced and looked at him, staring at him with a cold anger he was unfamiliar with.

"Tell me the truth," Matt demanded quietly.

Tyler frowned, genuinely confused. "The truth about what?"

"About why you're really here."

Tyler sighed and rubbed a hand across his jaw. "I told you before, Matt. It's my mom's birthday, and I thought I'd come back and see her. Why does that even matter?"

"I just find it interesting that as soon as I start dating someone new, you show up and are all over Caroline," Matt retorted, folding his arms across his chest.

Tyler's eyes rounded and then narrowed quickly. "Wait—_Caroline_? Caroline and I are _friends_, man. Just friends." He was going to have to record that statement and play it for everyone he came in contact with if this kept up. Matt was apparently subscribing to Jules' particular brand of crazy.

"Really? _Just friends_ don't have their hands all over each other like you two did at the Grille tonight," Matt snapped.

Tyler froze. How did Matt know they had been together? "Matt—"

He took a step closer to Tyler, his blue eyes narrowed with anger. "So tell me the truth, Ty. Did you come back for Caroline now that we're broken up?"


End file.
